KERR COUNTY, Texas – It’s been a week since catastrophic flood waters swept across the Texas Hill Country, destroyed property, killed more than 100 people and left more than 150 missing in Kerr County.
In the days since, survivors have shared their stories with KSAT journalists. From campers and RV park residents to local residents and property managers who helped get people out, the survivors describe the moments when rising waters turned deadly, and the community’s determination to recover.
>> Where people affected by Kerr County floods can receive free meals, financial help and more
Hunt resident Connie Towery said she was thankful at first for the rain during the early morning on July 4. But when water rose faster than anyone expected, residents watched their belongings and trailers being swept away by rapid currents, leaving little time for planning escapes. RV park managers went door-to-door, waking guests and urging them to evacuate before it was too late.
Barry Adelman, an Austin resident visiting family on the Guadalupe River, thought they could escape by car, but the waters were too high. Instead, his family, including his 94-year-old grandmother, sought refuge in the attic.
“The first thing we saw was cars with their headlights on and people inside — horrible, horrible screams of people in the cars — not in the car — just floating by,” Adelman said.
Kerrville resident Scott Weldon was forced out of his house by the rising waters.
“We jumped out, got washed down three houses and hung onto a bush until we got rescued,” Weldon said.
Scott Towery, general manager of the River Inn Resort in Hunt, fashioned bedsheets together to use as rope to lift people out of the flood waters.
“We pushed and they pulled. One false step and you would have been gone,” said Towery.
Schriener University student Leo Romero Jr. was playing video games when he heard water under the floorboards of his house. As the water rose, his family’s house was swept away and the roof collapsed on Romero’s head. After four hours trapped in flood waters, firefighters rescued him.
“I’m glad I’m safe,” Romero told KSAT’s Myra Arthur from a hospital bed. “But it hurts knowing that I don’t know anything about my family.”
As of Sunday, July 13, 106 people — 70 adults and 36 children — have been confirmed dead in Kerr County. Eight people have died in Kendall County. Among the missing are five campers and one counselor from Camp Mystic.
Despite the heartbreak, community members are determined to rebuild and stay in the Hill Country. Across the area, neighbors are stepping up to provide support.
“On July 4, we got the locals. The locals have not left. They have been here. They stopped going to work. Construction companies stopped to be here,” Lorena Gullien, Blue Oak RV Park owner said. “They have been here nonstop.”
